slow cooker and xmas is all I can think about

Okay, let me explain. I have a new slow cooker, I haven't had one before, and all I can think about is what I'm going to cook in it. Although Hubby and I are on a diet we seem to get through food like wild fire and I seem to be shopping for food every day! (p.s we are losing weight by the way, nearly 3 and a half stone between us, yey!) Anyway I keep finding myself browsing the slow cooker recipe books and then kind of making it up!

Secondly as hubby is going away in 4 weeks time I am trying to get lots of xmas things sorted out early. The job of writing the tags is normally his (fair as I do all the shopping and wrapping) and I didn't want him to get out of this task just because he is going to be on the other side of the world, so we started wrapping the childrens' presents early - so Daddy has still written the tags! Plus I needed to order a new xmas tree as we need a smaller one this year as hopefully (fingers crossed) we will have the very kindly given free - piano in the conservatory as well.

Anyway even with all of this running through my mind we have been up to this...........

make a teddy bear kit, this was on Halloween while we were waiting to go and collect N's friend, who was coming for tea and then Trick or Treating with us.....

We went to the wildlife park again on Monday afternoon, look at the their great pumpkin display, yes I know Halloween is over but if I had made decorations this good I wouldn't want to take them down either. I notice that their faces are permanent marker - this is a much better idea than carving, after all you can cut open the pumpkin afterwards and put all the flesh in the slow cooker!
They have two reindeer there now - see yet another reminder that xmas is coming....

We have also been to buy some decopatch papers and material ready for xmas presents that N is making for family.... (xmas again it seems to be taking over my life)

Tomorrow we are going to pick up N's sister, she is coming to stay for the weekend, I am off to take her to Northampton Uni on Saturday to see if she likes it. I never went to Uni so I am weirdly excited to see what its like!

N has emptied the button tin and is merrily sorting them all into piles as we speak so I better go, why do these things always start at bedtime!